After being closed for a year and a half, a one-third mile stretch of Beaconsfield Road in Eastpointe reopened Thursday upon the completion of a major underground infrastructure project.
Beaconsfield Road had been closed from Nine Mile, south to Rosetta Avenue, since excavation of a large access shaft began in September 2022 to reach the sewer interceptor 35 feet below the surface.
Discharges of combined sewer overflows into Lake St. Clair will be reduced because of the upgrade.
“This is a significant day and proves the commitment and political will by Macomb County to lead by example in the region by investing in underground infrastructure to protect Lake St. Clair and improve water quality,” Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller said during Thursday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. “Generations of people will benefit.”
The underground infrastructure improvement was called the “in-system storage project” because it used the existing, 11 ½-foot-diameter pipe that has been in place for several decades to install an inflatable weir that can be operated to temporarily store combined stormwater and sanitary sewage flow during a heavy rain event.
When precipitation subsides, the weir can be deflated, and the stored flow is gradually released further downstream to the Great Lakes Water Authority’s Detroit wastewater plant for complete treatment — instead of discharging partially treated overflow into the lake.
The project will reduce CSOs into Lake St. Clair by approximately 10-15%.
“It shouldn’t be overlooked that a significant aspect of this tremendous, transformational project is that we used existing space in our infrastructure to all of our advantage, using it to its full capacity,” Miller said.
The $13 million project that included new concrete pavement and curbs to restore the intersection of Beaconsfield Road and Oak Avenue was funded mostly with American Rescue Plan Act funds — including $8.8 million in ARPA funds allocated by the Macomb County Board of Commissioners.
The project serves the drainage district which handles the combined stormwater and sanitary flow from all of Eastpointe and 40% of St. Clair Shores.
“The benefit of this project extends far beyond the two cities served by this sanitary sewage and stormwater district.” said Macomb County Commissioner Sarah Lucido. “By reducing CSOs into Lake St. Clair, everyone in the region including the Canadian side of the lake, benefits.”
Lucido is also a member of the drainage district board.
“I’d like to thank Commissioner Miller and her team for spearheading this project and officials at all levels for securing the funding to pay for it without a cost increase to the ratepayers in Eastpointe and St. Clair Shores,” said Eastpointe Mayor Michael Klinefelt.
In other efforts to reduce CSOs, the Macomb County Public Works Office made operational changes in 2021 at the Chapaton Pump Station at Nine Mile and Jefferson Avenue in St. Clair Shores that have reduced CSOs by approximately 30%. Currently, extensive construction/rehabilitation continues at the Chapaton Canal Rehabilitation Project at the foot of Nine Mile Road at Lake St. Clair, and is expected to reduce CSOs into the lake by more than 30%.
“We’re all better served when we’re mindful that water quality equals quality of life and make the necessary decisions,” Miller said.